Occlumency
by IEatJamFromTheJar
Summary: Both boys are outraged when Dumbledore arranges for Draco to teach Harry Occlumency. Rated M for language and possible sexual content. HP/DM
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Draco Malfoy had many faults, and not admitting to those faults was one of them. Therefore, it was a miracle for him to be standing outside Professor Dumbledore's office one morning, his hands shaking and mind whirring. He hesitated before leaning to touch the door, and backed away after only a moment. Shaking his head, he muttered under his breath and backed away.

"Ah, Mr Malfoy," Dumbledore announced, his blue eyes sparkling behind half-moon spectacles, "I wondered when I'd be seeing you." Draco turned feverishly to see the headmaster standing directly behind him. For how long he had been there, Draco did not know.

"I-"

"I know," Dumbledore smiled, "please, follow me."

He then muttered something Draco could not quite catch under his breath, and watched as a room seemingly appeared before their eyes. Draco hesitantly followed the headmaster's footsteps, admiring the grandeur surrounding him. He had never before set foot in Dumbledore's office, and wondered how on earth he would approach the following conversation.

"Please take a seat Mr Malfoy", the headmaster announced, interrupting the blonde's analysis of the décor. Without hesitation he obeyed, sitting opposite the older man, feeling regretful and looking almost ashamedly at the floor. His usual pallor was tinted with pink as he flushed slightly with embarrassment, and more potently… fear. Fear of rejection and fear of being found out.

"Sherbet lemon, Draco?" It was the first time the professor had addressed the boy with his first name, but neither man seemed to acknowledge this.

Draco's nose wrinkled with distaste, "No thank you,"

"So Draco," Dumbledore continued whilst reaching for a sweet himself, "Why did you wish to speak with me this morning?" he asked as Draco cleared his throat nervously.

"I wanted to speak with you about… About switching sides."

Dumbledore's eyebrows raised, but other than that he showed no sign of surprise. After being stimulated by an encouraging hand gesture, Draco continued.

"I don't… want to be bad, but I see no way of switching sides without endangering myself and my family. Without your assistance I mean. Of course safety is my priority but…" Draco stuttered momentarily forgetting what he had previously rehearsed, "But I don't want to follow my parent's lead anymore. Is there any way I can possibly… help?" He stammered, his face colouring further.

"Is this simply a way to rebel against your parents?" Dumbledore questioned, now pacing the room.

"Malfoys do not go against their parents unless it is absolutely necessary. This isn't exactly a spontaneous decision," Draco spat, his steel eyes glinting.

"Of course, of course… But then why?"

"I need to think of my future," Draco stated flatly, looking almost desperately at the professor. At this, Dumbledore stopped and looked almost pitying at the boy before him.

"Of course, you do not want to be associated with Voldemort if Harry should succeed…"

"Obviously not," Draco drawled impatiently, "I don't care what it takes," he said before looking down at the floor again. A few moments passed, accentuated by the strained silence between the two men,

"And have your views changed at all?"

"I don't see why they should matter," Draco frowned, his expression indignant.

"Why, they matter most of all," Dumbledore explained, pacing once again.

"Well they remain unchanged. I stick beside my family's values when it comes to blood purity, but that does not make me a sadist. I do not want my views to result in the murder of innocent people." Draco muttered quietly, almost ashamedly.

At this, Dumbledore looked down at Draco once more, and seemed to search his grey eyes with curiosity. "So you are asking for an exchange?"

"Yes. I will do whatever I can to help your cause, if it means I do not have to be shipped to Azkaban in the future," Draco said wearily, looking into the professor's tired eyes.

"Well I'm glad you came to me Draco, because I do indeed have something I need help with."

Harry Potter was more than a little surprised when he was passed a note from Dumbledore requiring his presence in his office that evening. In fact, he was slightly worried and automatically assumed he would be receiving bad news. Despite these anxieties, he arrived punctually outside the office door, sweating slightly before reciting the password written on the note (Fizzing Whizbees). After striding into Dumbledore's office, bile rose in his throat when he saw none other than Draco Malfoy seated opposite the professor. No one in the wizarding world would have mistaken the white-blonde hair for anyone else, so Harry's heart sank in his chest knowing this meeting would not be fun.

Draco heard footsteps behind him, and knew instantly who they would belong to. In fact, he knew this without identifying the various scuffs and squeaks Harry's shoes always made when walking across polished floor. He just knew. His immediate reaction was to turn and scowl, but stopped when he looked into Dumbledore's eyes. He had signed up for this.

"Good evening Harry," Dumbledore smiled. Draco said nothing.

"Good evening professor," Harry replied civilly, taking a seat next to Draco despite his reluctance. Draco wrinkled his nose and shifted slightly in his seat whilst Harry rolled his eyes agitatedly, beginning to hope this conversation would not take long.

"Draco, I assume you are trained in the art of Occlumency?" Dumbledore began.

"Yes," Draco said hesitantly, his eyes narrowing.

At this point Harry stood up from his seat and erupted, "You've got to be joking!" his expression disbelieving.

Draco, oblivious to Harry's thoughts simply scowled slightly and looked at Harry with a similar expression of disbelief, "What?" he asked, "What's going on?"

Dumbledore continued, seemingly ignorant of the commotion surrounding him. "Draco, could you perhaps enlighten Harry on the importance of Occlumency when one is mentally connected to a powerful dark wizard?"

Draco only continued to look confused, "I don't understand, could somebody tell me what's going on?" he asked again, this time seeming even more agitated.

Harry only looked at Dumbledore with a pleading expression, "Please don't do this Professor"

"WHAT'S GOING ON?" Draco bellowed.

Harry looked at Draco with an expression that looked like extreme discomfort, while Dumbledore smiled slightly. "Thank you Draco, I was just about to get to that." Draco coughed embarrassedly whilst Harry sat back down, looking at the floor. "Harry needs someone to teach him Occlumency – somebody who is well trained in the art. You are obviously a perfect example of somebody who could do this."

"Well not exactly," Harry laughed maliciously, "his parents are… are…" Harry began but faltered when looking at Draco's devastated expression.

"Well?" Draco began, "Maybe, but they aren't dead are they?" He spat, almost growling at the smaller boy.

"And they probably wouldn't be if it wasn't for-"

"I trust him," Dumbledore announced, interrupting the two boys. At this comment, both boys looked at the professor with an expression of utter disbelief. "It is imperative that you should learn to control your mind, and it's important that Draco should teach you this."

"But why Malfoy?" Harry asked again, his expression desperate.

"I'm sure you will both grow to understand," Dumbledore said, a slight sad smile playing with his features. "You are both dismissed; I will arrange your first meeting in one of the transfiguration classrooms next week. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me."

But despite the many questions both boys festered, neither stayed to ask them.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Both Harry and Draco spent the next week seemingly unperturbed by their meeting with the headmaster, and avoided contact at all costs. However, despite Harry's best efforts to disguise his upset, he was unable to convince either Ron or Hermione that nothing was wrong.

"Harry?" Hermione started one evening, her eyebrows furrowed, "Is everything alright? Ever since you had that meeting with Dumbledore, you've been acting rather strangely…"

"She's got a point," Ron added, "You've kind of distanced yourself from everybody."

Harry sighed inwardly, yet did not feel terribly surprised at his friend's ability to interpret his behaviour. "It's nothing terrible," Harry admitted, "it's just Malfoy." As Hermione's eyes rolled and Ron groaned, Harry could not help but admire their nonchalance.

"Mate, please don't tell me you're obsessing over that git again," Ron sighed.

"I've got to say I agree with Ronald on this one, Harry. Seriously, I know you've got some sort of rivalry going on, but you need to…"

"No, it's not that," Harry cut in, waving his hand dismissively.

"Then what's the matter?" Ron asked. Both of Harry's friends looked at him with curiosity, eyebrows raised and expressions confused.

"Dumbledore's getting him to teach me Occlumency."

A silence excluding the crackle of the common room fire followed his words. Ron was the first to break the lull in conversation, his voice outraged. "Well is he out of his fucking mind? Son of a death eater given easy access to your mind! What in Merlin's name is he on?" He shouted, his ears colouring considerably. Hermione seemed confused, but not to the extent of Ron's outburst.

"Well I admit it definitely seems strange… But surely Dumbledore knows what he's talking about. He wouldn't purposefully endanger your life… Maybe… Yes..." She considered, pausing for a moment.

"What?" Harry snapped agitatedly.

"Maybe he's switched sides," Hermione suggested.

"Ha!" Ron yelled, "Son of Lucius Malfoy; good? Hermione he calls you a mudblood! He's probably a death eater himself."

"Keep it down Ronald!" Hermione hissed, "I'm not saying he's good… But he is a Slytherin."

"You're not arguing your point very well," Ron snorted, as Hermione rolled her eyes in response to the boy's vacant expressions.

"And Slytherins are famous for their self-interest. If You Know Who gets defeated, Malfoy's going to be in trouble. He probably wants friends on both sides."

Harry deliberated this for a moment, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "I guess that makes sense… But how does it make Draco trustworthy?"

At that, another silence cloaked the common room as three students tried desperately to figure out Dumbledore's reasoning.

Draco was eating breakfast in the Great Hall when he received his post. After briefly scanning a letter from his mother and opening his usual package of sweets, he noticed another note on his lap. At this he looked up at the Gryffindor table, only to witness Potter's appalling table manners. Wincing slightly, he read the note and tried not to groan as his suspicions were confirmed. Looking up again, he noticed Potter was staring at him. Draco felt unnerved, wondering if Potter's fearful expression was similar to his own, despite the Slytherin ability to conceal emotions. Draco then noticed Potter's eyes were bright green – almost startling. Feeling uncomfortable after this realisation, he broke eye contact and returned to his toast, refusing to look as anxious as Potter had.

Harry stumbled into the Transfiguration classroom allocated by the headmaster at ten past seven – ten minutes late.

"You're late," Draco drawled miserably, "The least you can do is turn up on time." Both boys scowled, avoiding eye contact. "Okay then," Draco started, feeling momentarily unsure of himself. Running his hand through his hair he continued, "I guess we shouldn't waste any more time." Harry nodded once, his posture rigid as he stood by the door – almost as if he was about to make a quick getaway. "Unfortunately Potter, I do not own any books on Occlumency, therefore we're going to have to learn this the hard way," Draco smirked as Harry flushed angrily, his muscles tensing. "In order to teach you Occlumency, I'm going to have to invade your mind, while you attempt to resist." Draco shrugged, looking impossibly relaxed as he leaned against a desk and folded his arms across his chest, "Any questions?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, his grey eyes mocking.

"Yeah actually," Harry began, "How do I know you aren't just going to run off to Voldemort with anything you might see?"

Draco remained unperturbed, his expression bored. "Well Potter, I don't think my father would be terribly impressed if he were to find out I'm helping the precious chosen one with Occlumency, do you? Besides, your dear headmaster set me up to this – you may not trust me, but surely you trust him? However, if you're going to remain an ungrateful git, I suggest you leave now," Draco drawled, his expression irritated.

"But you… You hate me?" Harry exclaimed incredulously.

"Your observational skills are truly sublime Potter," Draco sneered, "Don't think I'm doing this for your benefit."

The two boys glared at each other, the animosity between them almost tangible, "Fine," Harry snapped, "Whatever, let's start."

Draco pulled out his wand, and barely hesitated before uttering "Legilimens."

Although Harry had tried to mentally prepare himself for the shock of having another presence available to his thoughts and emotions, he could not help but panic as Draco rifled through his mind. Desperately he thought, frantic to conceal everything, but he could not, he did not know how. He gasped as thoughts flashed to the front of his mind, seemingly tangible… Mesmerizing. He remembered finally opening the letter from Hogwarts, and the endless wonder he felt as he boarded the Hogwarts Express. Images of him kissing Cho came flashed in front of his eyes, and so did the emotions that came with it – awkwardness and the reluctance to stop. He remembered flying for the first time – his breathing ragged and his hair whipped in the wind. And finally a burst of green light broke everything up – the image of so many nightmares, still horrifying to this day.

"STOP," Harry roared, twitching and sweating. Draco seemed reluctant, but lowered his wand as he looked indifferently into Harry's green eyes.

"Useless," he drawled. Harry was heavily reminded of Snape.

"I. Don't. Know. How." Harry stuttered, his lips shuddering despite the desire to remain nonchalant.

"Are you even trying?" Draco spat, "You seem pretty negligent considering you share a mind with the dark lord," he laughed sharply. "Again."

This time, Harry was slightly more prepared but he still let out a gasp as his thoughts were infiltrated. More images flooded his mind, of him hiding from Dudley and his cronies, of Sirius falling through the veil and Harry screaming as Lupin held him back – time standing still. Of smashing everything in Dumbledore's office afterwards, the will to fight fading as his remaining family was destroyed.

"Please… Please," Harry gasped, clutching his head and panting for air. This time Draco nodded slightly, his expression curt – completely indifferent to what he had just witnessed.

"Better," Draco said, "But only marginally - we need to do this next week. Try practicing before then, I'm not terribly patient." And at that he left, leaving Harry alone - still recovering in the abandoned classroom.

After returning to the Slytherin common room, Draco picked up his potions textbook; not wanting to fall behind on his studies. Everything he did that evening consisted of ignoring the earlier events – wanting to maintain his cool exterior and to remain calm. However, despite his best efforts he could not prevent the nightmares that followed – flashes of green light enveloping his mind.

_Quick note – Hi, it would be great to know if you like/don't like where this is going. Please leave a review, constructive criticism is always appreciated. I also apologise for the grammar – I think it decided to do its own thing._


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